Alcatel’s superbudget OT-980 showed us that Android smart phones could break the £100 barrier, and just days later Orange has repeated the trick with a phone called the San Francisco, a 2.1 Eclair-running device for £99 on pay as you go. It’s the latest in Orange’s range of budget smart phones that have many of …

“Two hens can’t make an eagle” is the pithy Russian saying that perfectly illustrates our single raised eyebrow at hearing that Nokia may be in talks with Microsoft to release a phone running Windows Phone 7. It’s the kind of doubtful gossip we’d usually blush to repeat, but this rumour comes straight from legendary blog mobile-review.com, so we’re taking it …

Earlier today, we noticed Orange was flogging its San Francisco Android smart phone for the ludicrous price of only £20 on a pay as you go deal. We were just about to mainline that information directly into your eyeballs when Orange went and pulled the deal, like an absolute rotter. There’s a chance the deal could reappear after the phone, …

The Nexus S, the latest mobile phone from Google and our December Editors’ Choice, has slashed £120 from its price tag — even before it’s gone on sale. Carphone Warehouse, which is selling the phone exclusively in the UK along with its mothership, Best Buy, has cut the price from £549.99 to £429.99. If you’ve already pre-ordered the phone, don’t fret …

Welcome to The 411, my column answering all your questions about cell phones and cell phone accessories. I receive plenty of questions about these subjects via e-mail, so I figured many of you might have similar queries, too. Occasionally I solicit answers from readers if I’m stumped. Send your questions and comments to me at [email protected]. If you prefer to …

Can an iPad really take the place of a laptop? For many users, the answer would be: “Not without a real keyboard.” I hear that. Though I’m able to manage some basic touch-typing with the iPad’s onscreen keys, my fingers don’t fly nearly as nimbly as they do with a real set of QWERTYs. Apple’s iPad Keyboard Dock is one …

What does Verizon plan to show us in Las Vegas next month? Verizon Verizon Wireless confirmed via its Twitter account today that it will launch new Android devices with support for its growing 4G LTE network at CES 2011. We don’t know exactly which devices the carrier will showcase at its January 6 press event, but potential handsets include the …

For most of this year, “4G” has became the latest war-of-words battleground for U.S. carriers. But even as Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless rushed to outboast each other with claims of operating the best high-speed data network, the International Telecommunication Union declined to officially acknowledge their respective technologies as 4G. The carriers, of course, never acknowledged that tidbit–admittedly, “not quite …

Mobile Email 4.0 has finally arrived for owners of feature phones on Verizon Wireless. The new e-mail solution boasts an improved method of accessing e-mail that includes a “true push” experience, compatibility with Microsoft Exchange Email, Outlook Calendar sync, and a brand-new user interface. As a reminder, the Mobile Email app isn’t free–it’s $5 a month with a Pay as …

It’s the time for Christmas miracles, and we do love a bit of technology indistinguishable from magic. That’s what we thought when we clapped our eyes on Word Lens, an augmented reality-style translation app for the Apple iPhone. The app is similar to the text-recognition and translation features of the already pretty miraculous Google Goggles. As well as translating text …

HTC Wildfire owners should have a little extra Christmas twinkle in their pocket this week, courtesy of an update to Android 2.2 for those handsets on Vodafone. The jolly red network is passing on the update no sooner than it was announced by Taiwanese robowizards HTC, in a warming change from the usual network faffing. Hopefully the other networks will …

The Federal Communications Commission is set to vote on official Net neutrality rules tomorrow, which the agency claims will provide consumers, service providers, device makers, and application developers clear rules of the road for the Internet. With the support of all three Democrats on the FCC, the regulation is set to pass. And the vote will mark the next step …

A week ago we asked readers about how much they are paying for mobile phone plans and 34 per cent of those who responded said they often use less than 50 per cent of their monthly phone contract allowance. Just over 60% of readers said they use less than 80% of their caps. (Credit: CBSi) 1100 CNET readers responded to …

Today, Microsoft released an update to its Windows Phone 7 Connector for Mac beta software that brings some performance enhancements and new features. The software, which allows Mac users to sync music, video, podcasts, and photos from iTunes and iPhoto with their Windows Phone 7 device, now offers a new setup experience, as well as the ability to sync purchased …

Disgruntled AT&T iPhone subscribers may be waiting to jump ship once AT&T’s exclusivity on the iPhone ends, but will Verizon Wireless’ network be any better? And what about the AT&T iPhone users that stick with the carrier if everyone else leaves–would a mass exodus be good news for them? In this week’s Ask Maggie, I offer my predictions and advice …